***Alastair***
The guy on my left is about to lunge at Eliana. I grab her around the waist, ready to pull her out of harm’s way, but I’m too late.
Eliana’s left arm swings up. Pointing, she says, “Stop.”
The dude freezes in his tracks. Like seriously, not even breathing, caught in position midair. Everyone around us looks at each other.
“Don’t just fucking stand there. Protect your Prez, our club. We’re under attack, kill the bitch,” Kagan bellows.
“No,” Velma says, “from what I’ve been hearing and seeing it’s been under attack for years...only it’s been from the inside out. Changed for the worse by its own President. My father. A man who didn’t grieve the way others do, or respect his mate’s wishes. Nor did he continue in her vision. No. He chose to drag this MC down, tainting every inch of good it has built up through centuries.”
“Bull-fucking-shit, bitch. You need to shut your fucking mouth. You don’t know shit. Our club has functioned better in these last few years than ever before. So use that mouth for what it’s been created for; chatter up loonies so you can save their soul. Or better yet...I think it’s time you took my cock up that flaming mouth of…”
Kagan doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence because Velma slaps him across the face, using her paw with claws instead of her hand. Blood is dripping from his face. We all seem to be at a standstill in this moment. Before things escalate even more, I reveal myself.
Os visualizes after me. “That was the last damn time you talked like that about, and to, my mate.”
Kagan does a double take for a few breaths before Os’ words seems to sink in. “Your mate? She’s mine and how the fuck does that happen when you’re not even born into the same…”
I cut the idiot off who doesn’t have the right to utter one single word anyway. “Shut your mouth about pure-bloods and Hellhound mating Hellhound, because this here is my mate and it’s not the fucking family tree I respect but the goddamned brilliant woman that she is.”
The guy Eliana froze midair falls to the floor. Her father is still holding on to his head but it seems my words have affected Eliana so much, she’s stopped her magic. Shit. I fucking hope she can do it on command because she seems to only be able to when she’s angry or holding the grimoire. Seeing the book is still at the clubhouse...
“You can’t have my daughter,” Dedrick sneers.
“Oh, fuck, no,” I growl. “Now that you’ve seen she has abilities, you forget all about her human part, huh? Just like you use women for a quick fuck and be done with them. Objects to use before disposal.”
Kagan slips forward.
“Don’t move, asshole. Don’t even so much as twitch or I’ll have my VP rip you to shreds because he’s been itching to do so ever since he laid eyes on Velma.” I turn my attention back to Dedrick because I’m not done yet with giving the fucker a piece of my mind.
“Aw, hell. How could I not have seen that angle?” Dedrick mutters. “It’s the mating that triggers all their abilities.”
“Could you just stop with your insanity? Everything you’ve been doing goes against everything we stand for!” Velma snaps.
“Wasn’t that what your mother died for? She spent her whole life giving the humans everything she could, and in the end? What did they do? What did The Orderly do? Nothing. Everyone does what they want in the end. Selfish and personal gain to rise above. Stepping on others to become the one who’s in control. It’s man who wants to be king, except even that throne and the kingdom that goes with it will never be enough. They all seem to have a few tricks up their sleeve to handle everything. Never again will one of mine be faced with death. I will make sure we are the ones with the bigger tricks.”
“Shut. The. Hell. Up,” Velma seethes. “How can you even say such nonsense? All you do is vomit words without meaning because you can’t even see that you’re placing yourself on that throne to rule that kingdom. You have done horrible things. There is not a single excuse in the world that would even come close to rectifying what you see as a wrong. What happened to mom? It was one incident. One single person that lead to her death. Think about all the others she saved, what she worked for, what she died for.” Tears are streaming down Velma’s face.
Os can’t stand it and pulls her against him. Kagan’s eyes flare and his hands turn into claws, blue fire dancing over them.
“Hear my words, for I will say and offer this only once.” My voice is hard and loud. “This is a patch over. Those of you who stand for what they believe in, and with that I mean the true function of a Guardian. The one that comes with the job of belonging with the Death by Reaper MC, the fucking Heaven Charter, because Velma here is one of us and still has her own function.”
This starts up a wave of disbelief where people look at each other and mainly glance at Velma with a questionable look on their faces.
“It’s true. Nothing has changed for me. Other than some things have become very clear, mainly about how things around here haven’t been right for a lot of years,” Velma states.
“Enough with this. There will be no patch over. You two can piss off. Leave our women and walk away, or the Death by Reaper MC Heaven Charter will gladly slaughter two Hellhounds and reap their souls,” Dedrick barks.
I glance around the room. “As the President of a Hell Charter, you might expect those words from me…slaughter for a patch over, raise hell...yet it’s the opposite; the President of a Heaven Charter is voicing these words. Deep down you know the Hell Charters don’t slaughter innocents. We take the souls of the damned and The Orderly has given me the assignment to collect your President’s soul, your VP’s, and those who have fallen to their standards. So remember what I said. You can walk out right now and no harm will come to you.”
“Thank fuck,” the biggest guy in their midst says before he pushes his way from behind a few other guys and leaves.
Four others follow him. The rest stay right behind their Prez. I see the moment Dedrick decides to attack. I push Eliana behind me. The next step is made as my Hellhound, coming face to face with Dedrick who’s now a massive white version of a Hellhound. Blue flames wrap around him. One head snaps at me, the other one on his tail.
There is one instant of hesitation in his eyes when he assesses the fact that I have three heads in total. Then fury as no other flames in his eyes and even the blue of his fire around him fades to a hint of orange on the tips. He’s clearly passed the point of saving. He lunges toward me but we collide midair.
It’s a large clubhouse but even with the open space there’s not enough room for massive hounds to fight, even more so because there are now fifteen of them. We roll, I’ve got a good grip on his neck and attack with my other head. My tail battles his while I can feel three others jumping on me.
Slight panic fills me for a moment when I think about protecting Eliana, but I need to focus because my grip is slipping and the pain of teeth sinking in draws me back to the fight at hand. I thought I would feel the burn of the blue fire, yet I only feel the pain of teeth and claws. It’s probably through my connection with Eliana, where my fire can’t hurt her, the Heaven’s part in her made sure I had the same ability.
I can’t say the same for the other guys though. I boost the fire that surrounds me and the howling enhances. It’s empowering to know I can resist the blue fire because of my mating to Eliana; she’s the one who gives me strength. Not only from the ability to withstand their flames, but from the woman who makes my soul complete.
Sounds of shattering wood and glass ring out and I feel weight shift off of me. The teeth are gone from my back, and suddenly Dedrick is the only one I’m fighting. My guys, along with Jagger’s, are joining the battle.
Dedrick’s got a full grip on my neck. His teeth are lodged in deep as his nails dig deeper, pressing into my chest as he shakes his head in an effort to rip it off. It’s useless to ignore the pain that’s stabbing through me. I can’t falter in my attempt to do exactly the same to him.
Closing my jaw some more, I start to shake. I feel skin ripping from his tail as I manage to get an even firmer grip on his snout with my other head. His snarls turn into howls as I rip it clean off. Dedrick’s teeth and claws leave my body as he stumbles and lands on his back.
Looming over him, I have him right where I want him; me in a dominant position, him submitting, ready to finish this job. But his submission doesn’t make any difference. The job given is to reap his soul. He needs to die. I’m about to behead him again because both heads need to be severed from his body for this immortal to die, when I hear my woman scream.